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Roles of women in shakespeares play othello
Othello plot,theme and characterization
Gender roles in othello
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Carol Thomas McNeely had once said “ The sexes so sharply differentiated in the play, badly misunderstand each other. The men persistently misconceive the women; the women fatally overestimate the men. Each sex, trapped in its own values and attitudes misjudges the other. ” To rephrase the quote, it says that due to the misunderstanding of the fundamental needs for each gender, it confines the genders into stereotypical boxes. In the play, Othello, one of the main themes about gender roles in this play is that miscommunication between the different genders. Due to the misunderstanding between the two of the main characters in the play, it had caused a great demise for both sexes. To start with, Othello’s anger caused him to make a foolish judgment of Desdemona’s …show more content…
Othello, in this scene, is beside the bed that he and Desdemona share. He starts out on his soliloquy by breaking down crying because of what he is going to do to Desdemona. It states, “Yet she must die, else she’ll betray more men. / Put out the light, and then put out the light. / If I quench thee, thou flaming minister,” (IIV. ii. 6-8) Othello, not only being a deranged heartbroken madman, he decides that he must play God with another’s person life. Othello tries to justify his heinous actions by saying that he is saving the men of the rest of the world from one woman. To Othello and his society, is seems that if a woman makes one, only one, wrongdoing, her fate is determined by that one mistake. Women in this society are seen as the lesser, and their lives as something that can be thrown away or easily blown out, like a candle. Any of the men in the play, including Othello, don’t have any respect for women and think a situation, like Othello’s, can be resolved by brutal and partisan
Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear similarly experience an "unhooking" (Tompkins) in the eponymous plays. These tragic figures struggle with internal and external femininity: after realizing their emotions and labeling them feminine, they identify women as the source of this negative femininity. Their inability to deal with the female gender in any form destabilizes their masculinity, causing an unhooking/unlatching within them. The origin of Hamlet's psychological decay lies in his anger towards Gertrude and his inability to adjust to her marrying Claudius. From Hamlet's perspective, Gertrude giving herself to a new husband signifies her failure to honor his father and her abandonment of Hamlet; he is figuratively orphaned, and he resents his sole living parent. Additionally, Hamlet's emotional confidence has been significantly damaged: seeing his mother with another man substantiates the possibility that his future wife could leave him for another man and cause him serious pain. This realization compels Hamlet to mask his feelings for Ophelia with madness, a defense mechanism intended to conceal his vulnerability. Ophelia reports that he appeared "with his doublet all unbrac'd,/No hat upon his head, his stockins fouled,/Ungart'red, and down-gyved to his ankle" (2.1.75-7), but as Hamlet is well-aware of the dress code, he likely intended for his behavior to be viewed as unacceptable and thus mad.
In the era that Shakespeare lived, there was a universal hierarchy that men were superior to women. In his play, Othello, this social hierarchy that was in place at the time was challenged. Othello’s wife, Desdemona, does not follow this assumption that women are not independent. She is not a wimp; she is a soldier’s wife and fit to be so. In Othello, Iago is frustrated with his commanding officer, Othello, who promotes Cassio over him and plots to ruin Othello’s life. Iago appears honest and trustworthy, but through his actions causes Othello’s misery, suicide, and death of his wife, Desdemona. Despite the status of women at the time, Desdemona exhibits maturity and independence, expresses her own ideas, and stands up for herself to Othello.
Othello represents a prime example of Shakespeare's ability to develop relationships between the sexes so as to demonstrate those relationships' weaknesses. In Othello, the sexes are divided by misconceptions and ego- centric views of the opposite gender. The men of the play, in particular Othello, maintain a patriarchal, chivalric notion of the sexes, while the women of the play yearn for more involvement in their husbands' affairs. So it is that the thrust of the play emerges from "the opposition of attitudes, viewpoints, and sexes." (Neely 214)
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The story is about Othello, who is a general in the Venetian army and is convinced by his trusted ensign, Iago that his wife is cheating on him. Eventually, Othello kills his wife and when he finds out the truth, he then kills himself. Most of the conflict in the play stems from Othello’s assumption that women are not equal to men, which leads to dramatic and valuable irony. Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, his trust in Iago and Othello’s jealousy indicate Othello’s belief that women are not equal to men.
In modern society women have equal respect from men. Women do not need to be compliant to men and are free to express themselves. Although some pockets of discrimination exist in present-day society, it was not the same in Elizabethan England The disrespect that women received was unparalleled. Different levels of society bolstered this dramatic inequality of people, especially women to new heights. William Shakespeare writes influential books on the life of people living in Europe in the Elizabethan time period. William Shakespeare's Othello shows the identity of women to portray the injustice of unequal status of women expecting them to be blindly obedient to men.
In Shakespeare's Othello, as in most writings of his time, women are viewed as trophies or objects to capture the attention of men. I do not doubt that these men do love their wives, but the love, respect and admiration for their women is much different that of our time. It seems modern women are much more capable of having what could be known as an "equal opportunity" marriage. In the days of sacred virginity, and honesty of one's word, well off women such as Desdemona were not given responsibility. Women in her position sat back and left the work up to their men and their servants. In due time they were given respect and admiration, and were seen as angels to be loved and cared for, but what does this really matter when one is unable to care for themselves, or have the power to accomplish without being told that someone supposedly more powerful will take care of it for them? I feel that this misogyny and sexism is eternal and even now, our world suffers from it. Many say this has to do with the "times" and the period in which Shakespeare was writing. But still, in these times as many others, there were people even then, that knew that misogyny and sexism were wrong, and must be changed. Unfortunately, it was not a general consensus.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
While there have been a great number of changes in the world since Shakespeare wrote Othello, there are a few truths about humanity and society that remain true. Othello is notorious for it’s examination of race, but is not given enough credit for its observations of gender. Iago embodies masculine gender roles in a severe and exaggerated way, allowing his desire for proving his masculinity to corrupt him morally. Iago then turns and uses his own fears of inadequacy against Othello as the root of his revenge and to improve his own self-image. Desdemona is hurt most by the need for gender roles, which ultimately ends up in her death. The characters in Othello are severely harmed by the gender roles they feel the need to adhere to.
Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
In the end, we can conclude that Shakespeare used a very conservative world view in his play, “Othello”. Using the characters of Othello, Desdemona, and Iago, Shakespeare reinforced the stereotypes of his time. In conclusion, gender expectations have greatly impacted the outcome of Shakespeare’s play, “Othello”, because the script of the play has reinforced the stereotypes such as girls who resist their fathers die, women who marry different race, class, and cultures die, and women who decide their own destiny die at the end. Through “Othello”, Shakespeare portrays women in a patriarchal system, and the result of the play is the consequences of gender disruptions. Therefore, there is no doubt that the gender expectations placed on both male and female characters have greatly impacted the outcome of Shakespeare’s play “Othello”.
William Shakespeare’s plays often put emphasis on the role of female characters and their influence on the male protagonists. This statement rings true whether it is regarding the impact of Ophelia’s insanity on Hamlet, the devastating results of Romeo’s love for Juliet or the shocking behaviour of Macbeth under Lady Macbeth’s control. Women have always been an integral part of Shakespeare’s works. Similarly, it is no different when concerning the women in the playwright’s quintessential tragedy, ‘Othello’. The play features only three women throughout its course, with each of them representing various levels of class, virtue and intelligence. Desdemona is aristocratic, virtuous, and tenacious; Emilia is a middle class maid, who is manipulated by Iago and loyal to Desdemona; and Bianca is at the bottom of the pile, being described as a frivolous “strumpet” - due to her occupation as a courtesan.
The play Othello is presented as a male-dominated society where women are only recognized as property; objects to own and to bear children. Women in the Elizabethan society and in Shakespeare society were not seen as equal to men and were expected to be loyal to their husbands, be respectful, and to not go against their husbands judgements or actions. Shakespeare presents Desdemona, Emilia , and Bianca as women in the Elizabethan time where they were judged based on their class, mortality, and intelligence. Shakespeare makes his female characters act the way they would be expected to act in an Elizabethan society. The role of these women in Othello is crucial because they show how women were treated and how unhealthy their relationships between men really were in both Elizabethan and Shakespeare's society.
Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare’s Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994.
Gender roles are potentially life threatening because they reflect what humanity has in store for the future. Stereotypes of all genders have significance because they are expectations of how they are expected to act: men are dominant, strong, brave, and women are soft, kind, caring, and more. In William Shakespeare’s Othello, strict ideas about gender roles are mentioned throughout the entire play. However, throughout the centuries, these about women have not changed and have not gained as much freedom as they wish/deserve to have. For example, Brabantio, wants to control his daughter with what she does and get rid of Othello because of his race. Additionally, Othello mistreats
Shakespeare wrote Othello during the Elizabethan era and was written in the last year of Queen Elizabeth I reign. It is seen as a Jacobean play but the context that it was made was Elizabethan. During this time period, it was set for Shakespeare to write in a way that appraises the Queen. Othello is a reflection of Elizabethan times but with universal themes. The culture of this time included a clear hierarchy, more barbaric in nature and a male dominance leaving women in a submissive role. During Shakespeare’s time, appearance was meant to indicate the lies within good and evil. Shakespeare uses the male characters in his play to show the contrast in how men treat women. All the men portrayed have a different social hierarchy. This idea is clearly shown throughout the characters of Iago, Othello, and Cassio. The three women in the play also play a similar idea of all having different societal roles and different hierarchy status.